Intent on One Purpose

What should “encouragement in Christ” look like? How did Jesus and his New Testament apostles encourage the followers of Christ of their day? And how do the Scriptures encourage us who believe in Jesus today? For those who have died with Christ to sin, and who are walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commandments, who are in genuine fellowship with Christ, doing his will, they were and we are encouraged to keep pressing forward, to keep obeying the Lord, to keep resisting the devil, and to remain strong in faith.

Those who were still making sin their practice, still holding on to some of their old sinful habits, who were not walking in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, but who were living immoral and ungodly lives, who were treating others with hate, and who were being hypocritical by presenting one image outwardly while they were, instead, living in sin and for self, they were and are encouraged to put those sins to death, to repent, and to obey God with their lives in faithful surrender to the will of God for their lives.

And what is consolation of love? Well, consolation is encouragement, but it is also exhortation, an appeal, a strong urging, counsel, or caution. And love (agápē) centers in moral preference and refers to what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful and obedient to God and to his commands. So this isn’t about lying to people to make them feel good while they go on living in sin. This is about loving people enough to tell them the truth which can save their souls from hell.

And what is fellowship of the Spirit? The word is koinónia, and it means sharing, contribution, participation, cooperation and partnership with the Spirit in the work of God in our lives, in obedience and in submission to the Lord. So this involves us dying with Christ to sin and walking in obedience to his commands in living our lives to please God and no longer to live to please the sinful desires of our flesh. And all Christian affection and compassion should then be a result of this, in agreement with God.

And what does that look like if we are “being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose”? Well, the “same mind” is the mind of Christ (of God) and of the teachings of the Scriptures, taught in their appropriate context. And the same love is agápē, which centers in moral preference, and which prefers all that God prefers. And the one purpose is the purpose that God has for our lives, that we should die to sin and obey God and walk in holiness and righteousness, no longer in sin.

And if that is how we are living, in truth, with purpose, then we will not be those who are selfish and self-centered who care only for ourselves and for what we want, regardless of how that impacts other people. But we will be those who love God and our fellows humans enough to tell them the truth of what the Scriptures teach, even knowing that we will be hated and rejected in return. For we put the true needs of others above our own needs, and we love as Jesus loves, even willing to die to see others go free from their sin.

[Proverbs 24:17-20; Proverbs 25:21-22; Matthew 5:8-12,43-48; Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:27-36; Luke 10:27; John 13:33-35; John 15:12; Romans 12:9-11,14-21; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8; 1 Corinthians 16:14; 1 John 4:7]

Refiner’s Fire

By Brian Doerksen

Purify my heart,
let me be as gold and precious silver.
Purify my heart,
let me be as gold, pure gold.

Purify my heart,
cleanse me from within
and make me holy.
Purify my heart,
cleanse me from my sin, deep within.

Refiner's fire,
my heart's one desire
is to be holy;
set apart for You, Lord.
I choose to be holy;
set apart for You, my Master,
ready to do Your will.


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Intent on One Purpose
An Original Work / July 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love